Friday, July 25, 2008

simplicity - I couldn't have said it any better

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~John Burroughs

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. ~Epicurus

Life is so simple, but we insist on making it complicated. ~Confucius

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction. ~E.F. Schumacker

The trouble with simple living is that, though it can be joyful, rich, and creative, it isn't simple. ~Doris Janzen Longacre

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Maybe a person's time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food. ~Frank A. Clark

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness. ~Henry David Thoreau

How many things are there which I do not want. ~Socrates

Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. ~Lao Tzu

The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. ~Thomas More.

People say "I want peace." If you remove I (ego), and your
want (desire), you are left with peace. ~ Satya Sai Baba

Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.
~ Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Too many people spend money they haven't earned,
to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. ~Will Rogers

Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English
language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and
enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in
having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.
~Elise Boulding

Simplicity is the essence of happiness. ~ Cedric Bledsoe

To know you have enough is to be rich. ~Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day
rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less
so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more.
~John Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go There You Are

We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy,
even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry. ~ E.B. White

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants.
~J. Botherton

You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. ~Eric Hoffer

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. ~Laura IngallsWilder

To live content with small means, to seek elegance rather
than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy,
not respectable, and wealthy, not rich, to study hard, think
quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to stars and birds,
to babes and sages, with open heart, to bear all cheerfully,
do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never, in a word to
let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up
through the common, this is to be my symphony.
~William Henry Channing

The simplest things are often the truest. ~Richard Bach

The art of contentment is the recognition that the most satisfying and the most dependably refreshing experiences of life lie not in great things but in little. The rarity of happiness among those who achieved much is evidence that achievement is not in itself the assurance of a happy life. The great, like the humble, may have to find their satisfaction in the same plain things. ~Edgar A. Collard

It all depends on whether you have things, or they have you.
~Robert A. Cook

If one's life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements. And finally, there is an intense delight in abandoning faulty states of mind and in cultivating helpful ones in meditation. ~The Dalai Lama

For fast acting relief; try slowing down. ~Lily Tomlin

5 comments:

  1. Absolutely wonderful... I wish I had such a way with words as these people do... :)

    Great blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great Post!
    I had a medical issue that forced me to sell most of my belongings 4 years ago. I found that living without all the stuff was much more peaceful and fulfilling. Then we got Married. Now if I could just get my Husband to get on board. That Man and all is stuff!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for visiting my blog.
    Your lifestyle is one I cherished for years. Then children grew up and I was growing older and began to feel isolated. So - I built a cottage in the city. My heart is still in my 125 year old farm home.
    With my gardening, canning, animals. But now in my home one year it is a challenge to create a minature of what I once had.
    I will visit often.
    Simplicity - much of what you shared is in my journal.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful quotes. I'm going through a second learning stage about all this sort of stuff right now - thanks for providing some good reading. (I especially like the Thoreau quote.)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those are great quotes. I think our Christmas cards this year will include a few of those.

    I actually feel sorry for people that can't understand the way we live.

    ReplyDelete

I sure appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts. I may not always have time to respond or acknowledge them but I do read them all and highly value your presence here.

ShareThis

free web counter